


Be the change, you want to see

by MomoGeraldine



Series: Madman in a bat-suit [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman and Robin (Comics), Robin: Son of Batman (Comics)
Genre: Alfred Pennyworth is the Best, Bruce Wayne Has Issues, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Bruce Wayne is a Bad Parent, Damian Wayne Needs a Hug, Damian Wayne is Robin, Dick Grayson is Damian Wayne’s Parent, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Gen, Good Parent Alfred Pennyworth, Hurt Damian Wayne, Jason Todd is Red Hood, POV Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake is Red Robin, Tired Bruce Wayne
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:54:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27669832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MomoGeraldine/pseuds/MomoGeraldine
Summary: Just father and son, being self-aware, together.Mostly Bruce being tired and kind of reminiscing.
Relationships: Alfred Pennyworth & Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne
Series: Madman in a bat-suit [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2023288
Comments: 2
Kudos: 65





	Be the change, you want to see

It’s been a long week, dealing with aliens, making sure your friends and colleagues don’t die. It’s exhausting. A lot of league missions are like that. Wonder how Gotham has been? Hopefully, nobody died. 

Ah finally, home, sweet home. I missed my cave. My sweet cave. I should take collecting things from missions back up as a hobby. Simple times, when nothing wasn’t as serious and grim.

I need to check the bat-computer, just in case.

Hmm...is somebody crying? How did I not hear it before? I must be more exhausted than I previously thought.

“I’m just saying, Hood-”

That’s Red Robin’s voice.

“And I’m tellin’ ya-”

Red Hood. Wonder what they’re talking about? I can’t quite understand it. The voices must be coming from the computer, as I’m seeing nobody is in the cave. 

The crying is now more subdued, waiting.

“Hey, Reds, I found something!”

Nightwing.

After that, I hear “what” and the usual.

Yet when I look at the seat. My heart breaks.

Damian. 

What happened? Why is he crying? What do I do? Help! I’m too exhausted...What would Dick do?

I scoop him up from the seat. And try to cuddle him. The keyword being trying, cuddling is not my forte. Yet if I speak, I might make it worse.

_“You need to actually talk to him, speak to him and listen to him, Bruce”_

_Dick, we had too many fights about it._

“What’s wrong?”

I try to say it as softly, as I can. The question is only met with silence. 

It appears, he only tries to hide from something.

We stay like that for a long time, others talking on a mission serving as background noise.

Damian seems to have broken his leg, I suppose that’s why he is on a watching duty.

I could close my eyes for a little bit? Let the eyes rest.

“Tt”

Wonder if he’s gonna talk?

“Father”

“Mm?”

“I lack my leadership abilities as Robin, am I the worst Robin because of it?”

W H A T 

I did not sign up for this…

Okay.

No panic, no anger, just concern, I can manage concern safely.

“What makes you think that lacking leadership makes you worst Robin?”

“Every predecessor before me has managed to keep a team, somehow being loved by them, lead them to success and I failed both those requirements.”

Oh, okay, I can manage it.

I failed as a full-time father but I can manage this. Right?

**.**

**.**

**.**

Okay

Okay

So…

_“I can’t believe you, Bruce, even after I died you gonna let some kid run around with that...that fucking costume!”_

**_…_ **

Right. How should I help him? How can I help?...

“You know your brothers wouldn’t think so, you are succeeding as one of the many versions of Robin.”

“Tt”

That sounded bad? Where’s Dick when you need him…

“You know how Batman started?”

“Grandparents died, you went to train all over the world, came back to Gotham, and decided to become Batman?”

“You got the gist of it, however, Batman didn’t start with all the glory and the fame…”

“Your point?”

That’s my kid. Just like your old man.

“It was hard, the beginning was hard, at the time I also had no rules except, get home safely”

“...”

I got him to listen to me!

“Tt, what changed?”

Mhm, right, time to tell him my story!

“Patience, my son”

“Tt”

“At the beginning, I was young, full of vengeance, full of pretentious fighting knowledge”

He raises one eyebrow at that.

“Believe it or not, I made one mistake after another, everybody knows my mayor failures but I also still think about my lesser-known failures”

I killed more criminals than I like to acknowledge.

“Some failures worked like a domino effect”

Red Hood, Jason, Joker…

“Most notable being, of course, Joker”

Had I saved him, I couldn’t have lost Jason, he wouldn’t have to die. I still have nightmares about it.

“Everywhere I walked, destruction followed, my friends, my colleagues, everybody, who I knew, was somehow linked with criminal underworld”

Two-Face, Harvey Dent, Catwoman, Selena Kyle, Hush, Tommy Elliot…

“Can you guess, how did my “no killing” rule started?” 

Before I lost Jason, I still tried to be a father, I failed at it but I tried, once I lost Jason, I failed as everything. Tim deserved better, thankfully Dick was here to pick up the…

“You killed somebody accidentally?”

Yes.

“No, I read one psychology book once, it stated “Be the change, you want to see”, it changed my perspective”

At least I’m trying again…

“I still continued making errors but with more focus on the better parts of it”

“This sentence doesn’t make sense”

Blame it on the exhaustion.

“Sorry”

Sorry for letting you die, sorry for leaving you alone, sorry for not being the father that you deserve…sorry for being the worst parent out there.

“I’m just tired, what I tried to say was, even If I make mistakes, I focus on things that I can fix, so I wouldn’t make the same mistakes”

Clearly failing at it... 

“Batman wasn’t always liked or loved, when he first appeared, Gotham Gazette called him “Madman in a bat-suit”, that’s what he was known for, still is”

At this point, I’m waiting how long until somebody stops that madman.

“I will never know how hard it is to be a Robin nor will I understand completely of Robin legacy, what I can give you, however, is an advice, from father to son, focus on your strengths, just because you might fail at something, it doesn’t mean you stop growing as a person, each time you fail, think of it as an opportunity to learn, it doesn’t make you a lesser of Robins, just because you failed something, your predecessors succeeded at it.”

I wonder if I did it right…

“Welcome home, Master Bruce”

“Hello, Alfred.”

“How did the mission go?”

“It went successfully. How were things here?”

“They’re fine, kids busted some criminal chain, now they’re dealing with that, Damian managed to break his right leg on the mission, so Master Dick thought, it might better for Damian to sit this mission out and keep watch, he was very disappointed to be left here.”

Okay, business as usual.

_“You should have been with Dick! Not with Bruce!”_

_I know, Tim, I know._

I really should read books on parenting.

“Sir, it appears master Damian is tired, should I go and put him to bed?”

Oh

I wasn’t the only person tired today.

“It’s okay, I’ll go and put him to bed, you keep watch on the others?”

“Of course, sir, shall I fetch some midnight tea for later?”

“No need, good night, Alfred”

“Good night, Bruce”

I keep forgetting how empty these halls are, often they are suffocating to walk through, through the past, right now, they’re just empty.

Titus and Alfred (the cat), seem to be sensing Damian. They’re good friends.

“Hey Titus, Alfred, how’ve been?”

I missed home. I missed them.

A room tells a lot about a person, Damian’s room is always orderly, yet few things stick out, a tiny bit of his personality.

Tomorrow is going to be back to the usual.

Putting him on the bed, pulling a blanket over him, as his pets try to cuddle him, that’s as domestic as it can be between a madman in a bat-suit and a trained weapon, without it being ruined afterward.

“Sweet dreams, my son.”

“Stay”

Without a question. I’ll try it.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Opinions & criticism are welcome.


End file.
